CHAOS is looming in schools in the Western Highlands province this year because of the failure to sort out leave fares for 300 teachers who were left stranded and did not travel home for the Christmas holidays.
More than 3,000 teachers in the province would not take up their postings this year until the Western Highlands provincial administration sorted out the stranded teachers.
PNG Teachers Association’s branch president in the province, Aita Sanangkepe, said yesterday that they were angry because this was not the first time this had happened.
Mr Sanangkepe said in 2006, the allocation of K1.5 million for teachers leave fares did not go straight to the teachers, who were entitled to receive their leave fares after every two years, as stated in section 130 of the Teachers Service Commission Act.
Last year, an amount of K1.8 million was allocated but only K800,000 was used, while the administration had not explained where K1 million was diverted to.
He said these two matters needed to be properly investigated by the appropriate authority and take tough actions on the officers, who had been misappropriating the money.
He said that only one week was left before the new school year begins and they cannot wait that long.